2017 Japan Cultural Tour
For 37 students, memories of being in the amazing country of Japan will never be forgotten. Two weeks were spent on the island nation where we all experienced the current and past cultures of Japan. We saw many of the traditional Japanese buildings and sites, did lots of shopping and tried typical foods and drinks. Our trip began with our 9-hour flight from Sydney to Haneda Airport in Tokyo, our home for the first couple of days. Tokyo is Japan's busy capital and the mixing of modern and traditional styles makes it unique. We spent time looking into Japan's past with some sites such as the graves of the 47 Ronin and Kawagoe Village, a town of the Edo period. Along with studying and immersing ourselves in the culture, we also had lots of fun playing in arcades, shopping and even facing a simulated magnitude 9 earthquake! 
Our next stop on the trip was Hakone, and we were all very excited to go on our very first Shinkansen – also known as the Bullet Train. Our stay in Hakone allowed us all to sit back and appreciate the environment and nature speckled with cherry blossoms in full bloom. We also visited the fifth station on the famous Mount Fuji, which was definitely the highlight for many students who attended the trip. Some of the students had never seen snow before and were just fascinated by the opportunity. A bus trip up a mountain to Owakudani let us experience a volcanic valley with Sulphur gas rising into the air from the ground. Hakone was also home to Lake Ashi, where the Shinto shrine with a red "torii" gate overlooked the water, which we saw from a distance on our scenic boat ride.
Arriving in Kyoto was met with a special event set up by our teachers, dinner at a Japanese styled restaurant where we were treated to delicacies…and all served and presented by people dressed as ninjas. It was certainly an experience! Kyoto is a city known for its formal traditions and numerous shrines and temples, it is a very scenic and traditional place and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. We spent time in Arashiyama, we visited Monkey Park, Bamboo Forest and then an evening of entertainment in Gion Corner, watching beautiful traditional customs, dancing and plays. We all participated in an authentic tea ceremony, enjoying the taste of traditionally brewed matcha tea with red bean sweets. Some students were also adventurous enough to make the 4km hike up to the iconic Fushimi Inari Shrine, better known as the 'Thousand Torii Gates'. The hike was tough but we all managed to get up to the top! It was an achievement.
We made our way to Hiroshima, where although the weather wasn't great we made our way to the Memorial Peace Park and museum. Hiroshima was an eerily beautiful place and many of us learnt so much from the sites. It's hard to envision the pain and destruction that happened there those years ago but it was an experience that I personally will never forget. Our stay in Kyoto came to an end and then we were off to Osaka! It was around this time that many of us realised that our trip was slowly coming to an end, and we spent time fitting in as much sightseeing as we possibly could. Our last day was spent visiting Osaka castle and then an evening onto Dotonbori.
Together we made it through rain, cold and long days of walking and not being able to sit down for hours, but memories and friends were made and we all enjoyed our overseas adventure. We learnt so much about Japan, its traditions, culture and unique lifestyle. Thank you to Ms Ayas, Ms Zappia and Ms Avery for organising the trip, along with Mr Nguyen for being our amazing tour guide who did a great job of not letting us get lost. Also, thank you to Vanessa who also came along and accompanied us on the trip. You all did a wonderful job of making sure we were safe and having a good time, we are all very grateful. We have, again, made another family at WSHS and hopefully we will be able to have a 10-year reunion in the future.
Emilee Arthur & Anthony Carter